Accidental Beauty

Chapter One

♡ C a t ♡

"Cat, hurry up! It's been twenty minutes!" I heard my twin sister, Kate, shout in the midst of pounding on the bathroom door.

I pulled the straightener through my hair a few times more before spraying it with hairspray and clipping a lock of hair back in a bobby pin so it wouldn't fall in my face. Hastily, before Kate knocked down the door, I applied mascara, chapstick, and perfume, then opened the door. Kate shot a glare my way before pushing past me and into the bathroom, mumbling, "Took you long enough."

I rolled my dark blue eyes, "Good morning to you, too." I snapped them crossed over the beige carpeted hallway to my room. Luckily, my dad didn't want to torture us any further than he already has and allowed us separate bedrooms. The only problem was the one bathroom. I pushed my door closed then went over to my closest, choosing a nice summery outfit that consisted of a gray crop top with lace making up the back and light washed high waisted short shorts.

I threw the clothes on in a hurry, glancing at my digital clock that read 6:50 in blinking green numbers. Crap. I knelt down and pulled white socks on then laced up my white converse hightops. I popped back up, checking my reflection in the mirror whilst running my fingers through my long nearly black hair.

It's difficult for anyone to believe that Kate and I are twins let alone related. Our eye color is identical, same with our height, but that's where the similarities end. While Kate's hair is a curly brunette, mines a wavy black when I don't flat iron it to pin-straight perfection. We have different interests, different facial structures, even the way we talk is different.

"Girls, you're going to be late!" My dad called up the stairway, reminding us about the time as always. I slung my black book bag over my shoulder and knocked twice on the bathroom door, alerting Kate that I was ready to go and she needs to get a move on.

I jogged down the staircase and into the kitchen where my dad was sitting at the counter reading the newspaper, a coffee mug in hand. I snatched a banana from the wired basket on the island and greeted him, "Hey dad."

"'Morning, Cat. Is your sister coming?" He inquired, not even glancing up from the article he was currently reading.

"Yeah she's just in the bathroom." I replied, taking a bite from the banana. I know what you're thinking, where's my mother? Shouldn't she be making breakfast? Our mom walked out a week or so after Kate and I were born, leaving my poor father with two babies, a small house, and little money. She left with no explanation, no pictures to show her newborns, no memories that said she was even apart of my dad's life. A huge part at that.

When we were younger, Kate and I would ask about our mother, wondering just who she was. My dad would always get this wistful grin on his face at just describing her. He would tell us how beautiful and kind she was. He would describe the little things she did, such as crinkle her nose every time she laughed. Lastly, my dad would say how she was the love of his life and how much he missed her. The pain that took over his being when talking about his love for crushed my heart into tiny fragments.

I hated her ever since.

Just as I was tossing the banana peel in the trash, Kate came running down the stairs, her hair flying behind her, "C'mon, we're gonna be late!" She told me. I quickly walked towards the front door which was being held open by an impatience Kate.

"Bye dad!" I called over my shoulder before the door was slammed behind us.

We lived in a more rural section of New York where the skyscrapers were replaced by town homes such as mine. Sidewalks lined the streets making walking easier and traffic rarely got jammed, unless you were driving into the city. Wrought iron gates were placed in front of every house, matching the pale green grass and plants. It was more calm, peaceful even.

My shoes tapped against the cement stairs leading down to the sidewalk. Kate and I enjoyed walking to school over taking the bus. Our high school was just two blocks over, anyways. We set out in silence, the only sound coming from the few vehicles whizzing by on the road beside us.

I looked over at Kate's usual attire of a t-shirt with a phrase and shorts. She didn't really bother to make an impression, only on certain days. We turned a corner, more kids now visible on the sidewalks. The quiet was beating down on me like a weight that can't be lifted.

"Sooo," I started, "tomorrow's Kylie's birthday."

"Yeah, I think she's going into the city for the day." Kate responded, switching the strap of her backpack from her left shoulder to her right.

"I don't know how people like the city, to be honest." I complained for probably the fiftieth time. NYC is always so crowded and everyone seems to be rushing around. It's too vast for me.

Kate nodded in agreement, "But Kylie just likes the Empire State Building. She said at the top it feels like something powerful is floating over her." Her voice grew mystical by the end, like what our blonde friend felt was a recent scientific discovery.

"Nothing 'powerful' happens at the top." I scoffed with an eye roll.

"Maybe something does." Kate argued as we neared the old brick building of our school. Students streamed up the stairs and into the corridors, a supervising teacher giving each of them a dirty look. Or was she looking them up and down to make out who they were? Either way, no one seemed to notice or care.

Vines crawled up the walls outside that seemed to protrude from the shrubs. The windows were dusty and stained, the panes themselves needing a new paint job. Our school was pretty run down, but it held one of those old sensations like you were in a museum. A sign lodged into the ground just next to the staircase read in gold letters, "Babylon High School."

We climbed the stairs just as the rest of our student body was. Once we reached the top, the teacher's eyes connected with mine. I swallowed the lump in my throat. She must be new for I haven't seen her around the building before. An angry graying bun sat on the top of her head, small glasses on a chain around her neck. Her eyes were narrowed into slits as she stepped in front of Kate and I, refusing us access inside. I glanced at Kate, urging her to speak up.

"Um...excuse us?" Kate uncertainly said, trying to move around the creepy lady. She stepped to the side, blocking her path once more.

"Mary Katherine and Catherine?" The lady's voice questioned, a demonic ring to it. A shiver ran down my spine, how did she know our full names? No one called us that, Cat and Kate was so much easier. My dad kind of had a thing with the name Catherine, as you can see.

"Yeah, are we in trouble or something?" Kate asked in a snappy tone.

"You live," she snarled, "the rumors were true." I took a cautious step backwards, nearly tripping and falling down the stairs. The temperature around us seemed to rise a few degrees making me heat up in my sweater. Fear coursed through my veins.

"Now, you must die." She growled, a malicious smirk taking up her face. My eyes widened as she spread her arms, bat-like wings taking the shape of the triangle of open space beneath her. An awful roar escaped it's lips. I barely had enough time to yank Kate down the stairs before it lounged.

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{{hey! this chapter is really short, and kind of boring, but it will get better, I promise. i'm cat [ha] one of the authors of this fanfic. kate will be updating next followed by faith. i hope you enjoy this story as much as we enjoy writing it!}}